The Meta

Testing disaster risk mitigation procedures

On Tuesday, Indonesia held its largest-ever test of its tsunami emergency procedures. This was part of regional move, with governments, volunteers and residents taking steps to protect against future tsunamis.

In Sri Lanka, the first of 100 tsunami warning towers was erected on a beach. Volunteers in Malaysia replanted mangroves, which some say act as a barrier against killer waves.

Indonesia said its tsunami test on Bali–a resort island unaffected by the 2004 disaster–was aimed at raising the public’s awareness of safety measures and testing technology deployed over the last two years.

Warnings were sent from the capital, Jakarta, to radios along the beach. Sirens wailed and crowds, many of them schoolchildren, briskly walked inland, accompanied by Indonesia’s minister of research and technology and a handful of foreign tourists.